Ukraine war updates: daily briefings as of March 13, 2016

(1) The situation is critical as the most intensive fire reported in the eastern occupied regions of Ukraine during the last day; Russian armed forces fired more than 71 times upon Ukrainian positions during the last 24 hours, 62 times on Donetsk direction and 8 times on Mariupol direction and 1 time on Luhansk direction; 19 mortar launchers fire took place across the whole contact line in the war zone in Eastern Ukraine;

(2) Luhansk direction: Russian enemy violated ceasefire regime once near Novozvanyvka with the use of heavy machine guns;

(3) Donetsk direction: the hottest combats took place there; tense atmosphere remains near Avdyivka, where Russian forces twice fired from tanks, fulfilled artillery shelling form 82-mm guns and 62 mines from mortar launchers; the enemy uses more armored vehicles on Svytlodarska line; in particular, 3 times Russian forces used APCs near the village of Luhanske; Russian sniper fire took place near the village of Luhanske and Myronyvsky; Russian armed provocations continue near Horlyvka; small arms, grenade launchers and 82-mm mortar launchers used by the enemy against Ukrainian troops near Zaytseve and Mayorske; two Russian provocations reported near Novgorodske and 1 more near Verkhnyotoretske; Russian forces fired with the use of small arms at Donetsk airport, they also used machine guns and rocket launchers during attacks at Ukrainain troops positions near Opytne and Pisky; two mortar shelling at Ukrainain troops also reported there; to conclude, each third shelling on Donetsk direction over the last day was conducted from the heavy arms;

(4) Mariupol direction: Russian armed forces used forbidden by the Minsk agreements 82-mm and 120-mm mortar launchers fire against Ukrainian armed forces’s position near Hnutove and Talakyvka as well as near Vodyane; Russian sniper fire reported two times near Maryinka;

(5) No lethal casualties among Ukrainian serviceman reported in the war zone in eastern Ukraine over the last 24 hours, but 7 servicemen were wounded in action.